Marinade roast in a Ziploc 3 days in refrigerator using recipe above.
Pre-heat oven to 400.
Precook bacon until it is half-way done, but still flexible enough to shape around the roast.
Meanwhile lay the puff pasty and spread flat.
Wrap bacon slices around roast and place in center of puff pastry.

Fold puff pastry around roast and seal all seams.

Beat an egg, and using a pastry brush (or a paper towel will work, too), spread egg wash over pastry. Using a knife, cut four 1/2-inch slits in the top to allow steam to vent.

Spray an 8×8 inch pan with cooking spray and place roast in pan.

Cook for 30-35 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

The combination of buttery pastry, bacon, and tender elk meat was delicious. Jade was certainly hoping I would drop a piece.

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This afternoon Joe & I went out on to the Shoshone National Forest to get our Christmas tree. For a $8 permit, we can go out into the forest and pick our own, which is even more exciting since this is the first tree of our own, ever! The past two years our rental was too small, and the three years before that we lived at Brooks Lake Lodge and got to enjoy the Lodge’s tree, but not one in our house.

Despite the fact that is was only 7 degrees with a wind chill of -18, that has been the norm around this part of Wyoming since last Tuesday. Several days it never got above 0. Two mornings this past week we woke up to the house thermometer reading 46 degrees. Yeah…a bit chilly once the woodstove dies, even with the electric heat on. Anyway, we found a nice tree that we were able to get to through knee-high snow, and were only a short walk from the pick up.

On the way home, we called ahead for permission and stopped at a friend’s ranch to hunt for dinner for the evening. I have never eaten rabbit before, and Joe decided it was time that I tried it. After a five minute walk around the ranch’s scrap yard, one appeared. Joe has a lifetime small game license, so rabbit hunting can be done on the spur of the moment, like today. After harvesting the rabbit with his .22, he quickly gutted it and we headed home with the tree and dinner in the back of the truck.

From start to finish, here is how to do it yourself:

Slow Cooker Wild Rabbit with Mushroom Sauce

Serves 2

1 cottontail rabbit

1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup water

~1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt

~1/2 tsp. Chili Powder

~1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

Skin, gut, butcher, and clean rabbit so that you have separated the front legs, back legs, and back strap.

Place into slow cooker.

Pour cream of mushroom soup over rabbit.

Season with a few good shakes of garlic salt and chili powder, and a smaller shake of cayenne pepper. (I did NOT measure my spices, so please adjust according to your taste.)

Pour 1/2 cup water over top.

Cook for 4 hours on HIGH until meat is fork-tender.

Serve with sauce from the crock pot over top.

Skin and gut the rabbit: First, remove head. Begin skinning by making an incision by the hock on the back feet and peel away fur downward toward neck until it is removed.

Once skinned, proceed to gut the rabbit like you would a large game animal, starting by making a cut through the center of chest cavity. Once animal is gutted, head home to prepare for cooking.

Butcher the rabbit and separate it into pieces so that you have the rear legs, front legs, and back strap. Wash with cold water to remove any fur.

Place rabbit in slow cooker and top with can of cream of mushroom soup.

Season with a good shake of garlic salt, chili powder, and smaller shake of cayenne. Add 1/2 cup water.

Cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Serve immediately with mushroom sauce from slow cooker over top.

I though the rabbit was very good overall. It was also extremely fresh, and a nice meal for a Sunday dinner. The back strap was just a little bit chewy, but the back leg was very tender, like chicken, and I picked the bone clean. The mushroom sauce was flavorful but not overwhelming. For my first experience eating rabbit, it was a good one.

Hope you have a relaxing Sunday evening.

I would also love to hear from you if you have ever eaten rabbit, and if so, how you prepared it!

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This is a great festive breakfast that also makes for nice presentation for a family gathering or potluck. Once per week I cook breakfast for the local Kiwanis Club, and I recently made this to kick off the start of the holiday season. Packed with protein and fiber, with a little sweetness to boot.

32 oz. container plain greek yogurt

32 oz. container plain yogurt

14 oz. can pumpkin

1 box instant butterscotch pudding

1 cup milk

1 bag Special K honey granola

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/4 tsp. Ginger

2 T. pure maple syrup

1. Stir together in a bowl the greek and plain yogurts until smooth.

2. Add cold milk to pudding and whisk in a separate small bowl.

3. In another small bowl, combine pumpkin and spices.

4. Using a large glass bowl, begin the trifle with a layer of yogurt.

5. Add a thin layer of pumpkin.

6. Add a layer of butterscotch pudding.

7. Sprinkle with granola.

8. Repeat steps 4-7.

9. Finish the trifle with a final layer of yogurt sprinkled with the remaining granola.